Top 5 social media trends of the week

Social media users congratulated the British royal couple, for Meghan Markle’s pregnancy announcement. In India, politician MJ Akbar was accused of sexual harassment and the city of Allahabad got renamed to ‘Prayagraj’. #Gitex2018 and #ByElections in Pakistan were also big trends online.

Royal Announcement

As soon as Kensington Palace posted on social media about the pregnancy of Meghan Markle, #RoyalBaby became a worldwide trend. The announcement was officially made over various social media platforms and fans were happy for the couple. Netizens congratulated the pair and speculated how long they had been hiding the news for.

[Twitter]

@hellokittysupercute: Congrats!️ May be explains why her outfits have been dark colours? To hide the baby bump and she kept her jacket unbuttoned throughout Eugenie’s wedding.

MJ Akbar

Indian Union Minister MJ Akbar, accused of sexual harassment by at least 14 women journalists, broke his silence on the #MeToo allegations, stating that he will not resign. Akbar also said that the allegations could be politically motivated. Consequently, social media users criticised the government for its silence on the increasing number of journalists accusing Akbar of sexual harassment.

[Twitter]

@rahulka: Government is making a big mistake in shielding MJ Akbar. More than 10 women have exposed this sexual predator. Dismissing their testimony hurts the Beti Bachao [save our daughters] credentials of the central government.

Allahabad renamed

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government, in India, on Tuesday approved the proposal to rename Allahabad as ‘Prayagraj’, and social media users were left divided. On Twitter, #Prayagraj was one of the top trends in India, with many people discussing the government’s decision.

[Twitter]

@ShyamaCGupta: Welcome change. I am a proud Member of Parliament… Thank you @myogiadityanath. The soul of the city will be revived.

Gitex Technology Week

Gitex Technology Week was widely discussed online this week as it is the biggest technology related show in the Middle East. A number of upcoming technologies were showcased, such as 5G internet, a system to track happiness of the public through social media and a driverless police station. Social media users shared their thoughts on technological progress in the UAE.

[Twitter]

@HamdanMohammed: Today I attended the opening of the 38th edition of GITEX Technology Week, in which more than 4,000 global entities participated. I was specially proud of the local entities and the great progress they have achieved in the technology sector.

#ByElections in Pakistan

Voting for by-elections in 35 constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies were held in Pakistan this week. Overseas Pakistanis got an option for online voting for the first time, which was praised on social media. People also trolled former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif for forgetting to bring his identification card to the polling station and not being able to vote.

[Twitter]

@sahlkhan97: Online voting was a breeze. Just cast my vote via iVoting online from USA. Thank you PM @ImranKhanPTI for giving us this opportunity. Proud to be a #voter! After #PMElections2018, this time voted for #ByElections.

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